Lighter



June 3, 1941 G. P. scHMrr-r Erm. 2,243,924

' LIGHTER Filed Dec. 31, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l INV ENT ORS. George Phi/a .Schw/ff. ona/d l'c/mrafs.

W WW

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 3, 1941 UNITED" STATI-*1s PATENT oFFicE LIGHTER George Philip Schmitt, New York, N. Y., and Donald A. Richards, Stamford, Conn., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Cardinal Products, Inc., a corporation of New York Application December 31, 1938, Serial No. 248,686

^ '1 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in catalytic lighters, that is, lighters which employ a catalyst for igniting cigarettes and the like, wherein the Vapor of alcohol or other vaporizable liquid carried by absorbent material is employed for effecting such action upon the catalyst, in the presence of atmospheric air, as will render such catalyst incandescent, so that the cigarette or the like applied thereto-and drawn upon, may be ignited.

A catalytic lighter made in accordance with this invention is characterized in that its housing is provided with a head in alinement therewith and open at its top for receiving therein the tip of a cigarette or the like, a catalyst seated in the head portion of the housing, a fuel reservoir enclosed by the housing and including absorbent material to be saturated with vaporizable fuel, valve -means between the catalyst andthe reservoir and in alinement with the catalyst, air admission means enabling atmospheric air to contact with fuel in said reservoir, and slidable means extending from the bottom of the housing, the valve means and air admission means being made operative by sliding movement of said slidable means. The head portion of the housing may be removably xed'thereon.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a practical, e'icient and economical lighter of the catalytic type, for cigarettes and the like, in which the cover is eliminated and the valve (through which the mixture of vaporized fuel and air must flow to the catalyst to render' it operative) 'is automatically maintained in shutoff position, and selectively opened by depressing a member or slidable means from the bottom of the lighter.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a catalytic lighter having a minimum of moving parts. i

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of a catalytic lighter in which the head thereof is utilized as a holder for the catalyst unit.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide efficient sealing means for the compartment holding'the fuel, against evaporation of the latter. Y v

The above and further objects andV advantageous features are accomplished by the novel and practical constructions, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter disclosed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, constituting a part of the disclosure, and in which:

' Fig. l is `a front elevational view of a catalytic lighter embodying the invention in one of its forms.

Fig.- 2 is a top view thereof.

Fig.3 is a bottom view thereof.

Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the `device in closed position.

Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the device in open position.

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of a catalytic lighter embodying the invention in another of its forms.

Fig. 7 is a top View thereof.

Fig. 8 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the device of Fig. 6 in closed position.

Fig. 9 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the device of Fig. 6 in open position.

Referring to Figs. l-5 which discloses one ex" ample of realizing the invention, there is provided a tubular casing or housing l@ having a head Il. The housing lil has the fuel compartment l2 which is open at its bottom as indicated by the numeral i3. The head is provided with a passage it of varying concentric diameters, which passage communicates with the fuel chamber or compartment l2.

This passage lli is formed in head il such that there is provided the reduced opening l5 communicating with the larger opening VIS providing a shoulder ll upon which is seated a resilient gasket It made of any suitable air and fuel vapor sealing material. Opening l@ communicates with a larger opening I9 the juncture of which forms a shoulder 2@ against which rests a screen v or perforated member 2l. Seated upon member 2l is a catalyst pellet or disc 22 made of any suitable material, as for example, spongy platinum composition, Covering the top surface of this pellet 22 is another screen or perforated member 2t. The catalyst unit comprising the screens 2l, 23 and the pellet 22 are held in place by the press fit of retainer ring 2li. Above the catalystunit the wall 25 of the opening 26 is flared to facilitate guidance of the cigarette (not shown) to be ignited by the ncatalyst unit.

Located within opening It is the head 2l of a valve, the latter having its stem or shank 30 extending through the gasket i3 and into the fuel chamber l2. 'The valve head 2l `has a conical' 5 suitable absorbent material. Passing centrally is in contact with the resilient gasket 38 located 10 in the bottom member 39 thereby shutting oil fresh air supply to the fuel chamber when the device is in the inoperative position illustrated in Fig. 4. It is preferable to provide a clearance 40 between the valve operating stem 33 and the 15 valve stem to prevent the valve from opening in the event of the existence of a slight unintentional play of the fuel reservoir unit. The fuel reservoir unit comprises the valve operating stem 33 having the enlarged knob 33 at its lower end, 20

and the top and bottom flanges 34, 31 which securely holds the absorbent material 32. Bottom flange comprises the horizontal portion 31, the sleeve kportion 31' which is held on stem 33 by press fit, and the flared portion 31" which forms a 2 5 valve against the gasket 38 when the device is in the inoperative position.

The bottom member 39 threadedly engages the housing sleeve l0 at 45. Bottom member 381s also provided with a recess 46 forreceiving the 30 enlarged stem head 33 when the valve is in the operative position illustrated in Fig. 5, in which instance the portion 31" of bottom retainer 311 is disengaged from gasket 38 permitting air to enter through passages 41 and into the fuel cham- 35 ber I2, the valve operating stem 33 at the same time pushing upwardly the valve head 21 thereby disengaging the same from the gasket |8 and permitting the mixture of air and fuel to reach the catalyst 22, and causing incandescence thereof when the cigarette applied thereto is drawn upon. Depressing member 33 into the chamber 46 by finger pressure will cause longitudinal movement of reservoir 32 and stern 33 placing the device in the operative position just described.

Referring now to Figs. 6-9 inclusive, which shows another example of realizing the invention, there is provided a tubular casing or housing 50 threadedly engaging at 5| the head 52. Interposed between head 52 and the threaded end 5I of hous- 50 ing 5|) is a resilient gasket 53. Housing 58 has theV fuel compartment 54 which is open at its bottom 55 forming ridges 56 to facilitate the passage of atmospheric air into the housing when so desired. The head 52 is.provided with a passage 55 51 of varying concentric diameters, which passage communicates with the fuel ychamber 54. Passage 51 is formed in head 52 such that there is provided the reduced opening 58 communicating with the larger chamber 59 providing a 60 shoulder or seat 60 upon which rests-the resilient gasket 6| made of suitable air and fuel vapor sealing material. Opening 59 communicates with a larger opening 62 the juncture of which forms a shoulder 63 against which rests a screen vor per- 65 forated member 64. Seated upon memberft is a catalyst pellet 65 covered by a suitable screen or perforated plate 66, the press fit of lretainerl|i1 retaining the screens 64, 6G andthe interposed catalyst in their proper position. Above the catalyst unit the wall 68 of the opening 69 is flared to facilitate guidance of the cigarette to be ignited.(not shown) y to the catalyst unit.

Located within opening 59 is the head 10 of a valve, the latter having itsstem 1 extending 7 through the gasket 6|, through the opening 58 and extending into the fuel chamber 54. The valve head 10 has a conical surface adapted for sealing engagement with the'gasket 6|. Valve stem 1| extends through the entire length of the fuel reservoir 12 terminating at its bottom in an enlarged head 13 fitting into a recess 14 of the bottom cup 15. Reservoir 12 is secured between bottom cup 15 and the top cup 16. Top cup 16 rests against the flanged sleeve 11 which is secured to stem 1| by means of a press fit. The valve 10 is maintained in closed position illustrated in Fig. 8 by means of compression spring 18. Secured near the bottom of housing 50 is a false bottom 19 having a central opening 80 through which extends the secondary. valve 8| controlling the air supply. Resting on the bottom member 19 is a resilient gasket 82 which acts as the valve seat for valve 8|. Valve stem 83 is xedly secured in the opening of a knob 84 by means of a press fit." A compression spring 86 maintains the knob 84 in the extended position (Fig. 8) thereby shutting off the air supply to the fuel chamber 54, during the inoperative period of the device.

To operate either form of the lighter illustrated in the drawings, it is only necessary to insert a cigarette into the top opening of the lighter in contact with 4the top screen or cover of the catalyst unit, press the bottom knob 33" or 84 inwardly and draw on the cigarette.y This will open the lvalves as heretofore described and permit atmospheric air to enter the fuel chamber and mix with the fuel vapor and to Vbe drawn through the top valve opening into chamber I6 or 59 and thence into contact with the catalyst causing the latter to incandesce and thereby light the cigarette. The moving parts will return to their initial position upon release of pressure upon the knob.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the invention embodied in some of its practical commercial forms but as this illustration is primarily for purposes of disclosure it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these particular forms of structure and that it may be modified in many respects without departure from the true spirit and scope of the invention as herein defined and claimed. lIt is further. understood that the terms which are employed herein are used in a descriptive rather than in a limiting sense, except, however, for such limitations that may be imposed by the state of the prior art.

vHaving thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is: r

1. A lighterv comprising a housing, said housing having a removable portion including a head open at its top for` receiving therein the tip of a' cigarette, a catalyst fixed in said head and fixed with respect to said housing when said portion is positioned on said housing, valve means in said head below said catalyst, a chamber between said catalyst and said valve means, a fuel reservoir within said'housing and including absorbent material to be saturated with vaporizable fuel, air admission means below said catalyst enabling atmospheric air to contact with fuel in saidreservoir, and slidable means extending from the bottom of said housing, said valve means and said air admission means being made operative by sliding vmovement of said slidable means relative to said housing enabling the air and fuel mixture to flow through said valve the bottom of said catalyst, said fuel reservoir being llable upon removal of said removable portion.

2. A lighter comprising a housing, said housing when said portion is positioned on said housing,

a fuel reservoir within said housing and includbeing provided with a head in alinement therewith and open at its top. for receiving therein the tip of a cigarette or the like, a catalyst fixed in said head and with respect to said housing, a fuel reservoir Within said housing and including absorbent material to be saturated withv vaporizable fuel, valve means arranged below said catalyst and between said catalyst and said reservoir and in alinement with said catalyst,

air admission means enabling atmospheric air to contact with fuel in said reservoir, and slidable means extending from the bottomof said housing, said valve means and said air admission means being made operative by sliding movement of said slidable means enabling air andfuel mixture to flow through said valve means for contact with theA lower portion of said catalyst.

3. A lighter comprising a housing, said housing being provided with a head in alinement therewith and open at its top for receiving therein the tip of a cigarette or the like, a catalyst fixed in said head and with respect to said housing, a chamber within said head and below said catalyst, a fuel reservoir. containing absorbent material to be saturated with vaporizable fuel within said housing, a `valve operable in said chamber and in alinement with said catalyst, air admission means enabling atmospheric air to contact with fuel in said reservoir, and slidable means extending from the bottom of said housing, said valve means and said air admission means being made operative by sliding movement of said slidable means enabling air and fuel mixture to flow through said valve means into said chamber for contact with said catalyst.

d. lli lighter comprising a housing, said housing ing absorbent material to be saturated with vaporizable fuel, valve means disposed in 'said head below said catalyst and between said catalyst and said reservoir, air admission means located below ysaid catalyst enabling atmospheric air to contact with fuel in said reservoir, and slidable means extending from the bottom of said housing, said valve means and said air admission means being made operative by sliding movement of said slidable means relative to said housingv enabling the air and fuel mixture to flow through said valve means for contact with the lower portion of said catalyst, said fuel reservoir `being fillable upon removal of said removable portion.-

6. Allghter comprising a housing, said housing having a removable portion including a head open at its top for receiving therein the tip of a cigarette, a catalyst xed in said head, and

` xed with respect to said housing-when said portion is positioned on said housing, a fuel reservoir within said housing and including absorbent material to be saturated with vaporizable `means for contact with the bottom of said being provided with a head in alinemeni'. therewith and open at its top for receiving therein the tip of a cigarette or the like, a catalyst fixed in said head and ,with respect to said housing,

a fuel reservoir longitudinally movable within said housing, said reservoir containing absorbent material to be saturated with vaporizable fuel,

' air admission means, and fuel valve means below said catalyst and between said catalyst and bsaid'l reservoir, an extensible mem'ier at the bottom of said housing, and means urging said member to extended position whereby said valve means `and said air admission means are maintained in closed position.

5. A lighter comprising a housing, said housing having a removable portion including a head.

open at its top for receiving therein the tip of a cigarette, a catalyst fixed in position within said headand fixed with respect to said housing 60 catalyst.

7. A lighter comprising a housing, said housing having a removable portion including a head open at its top for receiving therein the tip of a cigarette, a catalyst fixed in said head and xed with respect to said housing when said portion is positioned on said housing, a. fuel reservoir within said housing and including absorbent material to be saturated with vaporizable fuel, valve means disposed in said portion below said catalyst and between said catalyst and said reservoir, and in alinement with said catalyst, air admission means located below said catalyst enabling atmospheric air to contact with fuel in said reservoir, and slidable means extending from the bottom of said housing, said valve means and said air admission means being made being refuelable by removal of said removable portion. V

GEORGE PHILIP SCHMI'I'I'. DONALD A. RICHARDS. 

